"Sugar Town" is a song written by songwriter-producer

Lee Hazlewood Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s ...

and first recorded by American singer

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinat ...

in 1966. As a single released under the Reprise label, it peaked at number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in December 1966, while reaching number one on the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...

chart in January 1967. It became a

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile meta ...

. The song was included on Nancy Sinatra's LP, ''Sugar'', also released in 1966, and was featured in her

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...

TV special ''

Movin' with Nancy ''Movin' with Nancy'' is a television special featuring Nancy Sinatra in a series of musical vignettes featuring herself and other artists. Produced by Nancy's production company, Boots Enterprises, Inc., and sponsored by Royal Crown Cola, the s ...

'', released on home video in 2000.

Background

The song is an allusion to sugar cubes laced with

Lysergic acid diethylamide Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, v ...

(LSD), thoughlike other songs Hazlewood wrote"Sugar Town" was deliberately enigmatic: directed to a young audience, yet outwardly tame enough to receive radio play. Hazlewood denied that he had ever used LSD, or regularly partaken in drugs in general. He explained: The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

to "Sugar Town" was "

Summer Wine "Summer Wine" is a song written by Lee Hazlewood. It was originally sung by Suzi Jane Hokom and Lee Hazlewood in 1966, but it was made famous by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood in 1967. Lyrics Lyrically, "Summer Wine" describes a man, voiced by ...

", a popular

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

also written by, and featuring, Hazlewood.

Cover versions

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

artist Nancy Sit covered the song, released as a single by Crane Brand Records in 1967. Swedish band Shitkid covered the song on the 2017 album ''Fish''. In 2022, Mariano Garcia released an adaptation of this song as a single with the name "Tucumán". The lyrics allude to the province of Tucumán, Argentina, where the music video was shot.

In popular culture

In the 2009 romantic comedy film ''

500 Days of Summer ''500 Days of Summer'' (stylized as ''(500) Days of Summer'') is a 2009 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, and produced by Mark Waters. The film stars ...

'',

Zooey Deschanel Zooey Claire Deschanel (; born January 17, 1980) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She made her film debut in '' Mumford'' (1999) and had a supporting role in Cameron Crowe's film '' Almost Famous'' (2000). Deschanel is known for h ...

performs the song. In 2017, for the season 3 opener "

Mabel Mabel is an English female given name derived from the Latin ''amabilis'', "lovable, dear".Reclams Namensbuch, 1987, History Amabilis of Riom (died 475) was a French male saint who logically would have assumed the name Amabilis upon entering ...

", of the television series ''

Better Call Saul ''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, '' Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...

'', the original song plays in its entirety over the opening scene. In the 2020 mystery comedy film '' The Kid Detective'', the original song plays over the opening scenes, and again over the closing credits.

References

{{Nancy Sinatra 1966 singles 1967 singles Nancy Sinatra songs Songs written by Lee Hazlewood 1966 songs Reprise Records singles Songs about drugs Lysergic acid diethylamide

Background

Cover versions

In popular culture

See also

References